The present invention relates to a display device for a camera, and more particularly to a display device wherein by using selected display segments of a digital display unit for display of a numeral such as the number of photographed frames or an exposure value, various information such as film winding condition and battery condition can be displayed.
Generally, a camera is provided with an information or alarm display device which displays information or gives an alarm necessary for proper photographing, or is provided with a device which displays the condition of the mechanism of the camera. Among such display devices, there are known a shutter speed display device, a diaphragm setting display device, an improper exposure alarm display device, an exposed frame number or a remaining frame number display device, a film winding display device, a battery condition display device and so on. Liquid crystals, light emission diodes, lamps or the like are used with these display devices.
Recently, there has been a tendency to display information and give an alarm collectively on a single display panel. For instance, there is known a display device having a single liquid crystal panel on which an exposure information display section, a frame number display section, a film winding display section, a patrone presence display section, a photographing mode display section and the like are provided. The exposure information display section and the frame number display section are constructed of a plurality of digital display units each having seven display segments disposed in a figure-eight shape. The film winding display section is constructed of a plurality of display segments aligned on a line wherein these display segments are sequentially flashed while a film is wound or rewound to simulate the film advance. Other display sections are adapted to display characters, marks and the like.
In case various information or an alarm is to be displayed on a single display panel, the number of display segments must be increased if the number of types of information or alarm increases, thereby necessarily making the size of the display panel large. Also, the greater the number of display segments, the greater the number of driving terminals to be mounted on the display panel, which in turn leads to complicated circuitry.